Guest post by Padma Venkatraman THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE By Stacey Lee Pub date: 12/27/16 Katherine Tegen Books, Harper Collins I can’t remember when I last read a romance. In fact, I’m not sure I ever read a…
Author: J.L. Powers
J.L. Powers is the author of the y.a. novels This Thing Called the Future and The Confessional, and editor the forthcoming anthology That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone.
Jacob’s New Dress
Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman JACOB’S NEW DRESS By Sarah and Ian Hoffman (illustrated by Chris Case) 2014 978-0-8075-6373-1 Albert Whitman and Company Nearly a decade ago, we were visited by dear friends, whose son was gender-nonconforming. Like Jacob,…
The Warden’s Daughter
Guest post by Padma Venkatraman THE WARDEN’S DAUGHTER By Jerry Spinelli Cammie, the protagonist of Jerry Spinelli’s latest novel, lives in a flat adjoining the county prison. Her mother dies in the act of saving Cammie’s life when Cammie…
Boys Without Names
Guest post by Padma Venkatraman BOYS WITHOUT NAMES By Kashmira Sheth My copy of BOYS WITHOUT NAMES by Kashmira Sheth carried a quote from Jacqueline Woodson that said it was one of the best books she “read this year.”…
One Last Word
Guest post by Padma Venkatraman ONE LAST WORD By Nikki Grimes I, for one, am immensely grateful that one last word will not be the last word by this talented author whose work has gained much well-deserved recent attention.…
In time for Women’s History Month, FIRST LADIES
What’s the Big Deal About First Ladies by Ruby Shamir, illustrated by Matt Faulkner Just in time for Women’s History Month, I wanted to point out this great new book from Penguin that celebrates the many achievements of America’s First…
One Today by Richard Blanco
Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman ONE TODAY Richard Blanco Illus. Dav Pilkey Little, Brown and Company 2015 As with some of my previous reviews for this site, I feel obliged to begin by confessing my deep and abiding regard for…
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
Guest Post by Padma Venkatraman LUCKY BROKEN GIRL by Ruth Behar Pub date: April 2017, Ages 10+ (Grades 5 +) Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin The ARC of Ruth Behar’s debut novel, LUCKY BROKEN GIRL, carries quotes from three remarkable writers whose…
Black Flowers, White Lies by Yvonne Ventresca
I read Black Flowers, White Lies by Yvonne Ventresca in one sitting as we drove from northern California to the Arizona border last week, and it had me, quite literally, in my seat the entire way. The story sketches a young girl’s…
December Picture Book Roundup
And here we go, from some of my favorite independent presses, some really fantastic picture book offerings this winter season…. From Groundwood Books, The King of the Birds by Agree Graham Macam and pictures by Natalie Nelson, a biographical story about a young…